Author Interview: Samantha Chaffin

Hi Samantha! First off, please tell us a bit about yourself. Have any super powers or secret talents?

Well, I’m Batman. I’m also a graduate of the University of Southern California, and am now living in Los Angeles, writing Young Adult novels and running nonprofit social media accounts. My secret talents inserting quotes from The Princess Bride and/or references to Disney movies into conversations in a ninja-like fashion.

Can you tell us a bit about what inspired your story in the anthology?

“Wallpaper People” was something I started writing while studying abroad in London during my third year of college. I had toured this “living” museum called Dennis Severs’ House—an uninhabited home set up to depict what life would have been like for a family living there in the 1700s (it was like walking through a time capsule!)—and I truly felt as though I was intruding on the ghosts of the past occupants. The idea for “WP” hit me in the middle of the tour, and I’d never written a ghost story, so I couldn’t pass up the chance!

What have you been up to lately? Do you have any books out right now? Are you working on anything new?

I recently became a contributing blogger for The Yellow Conference, an online community of creative women and young professionals. I’m also working on a few projects at the moment—a YA fantasy novel inspired largely by THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and a YA historical fiction novel about a woman pirate. I know. My brain is like a golden retriever with a squeaky toy, a mailman, and a squirrel.

I’m always fascinated by where and how people work. What is your writing setup like? Any tools you enjoy using?

I’m afraid my writing set-up is pretty boring… I’m a straight-up Word doc girl. Always have been. I also weirdly love to organize things, so I make Pinterest storyboards and music playlists specific to every project I start.

Most writers are lifelong readers and books tend to be important to them. What books or stories have most influenced your life (genre stories or otherwise)?

I grew up reading almost exclusively fantasy and fairytale retellings (as well as excessive amounts of Nancy Drew). C.S. Lewis’s THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA to Shannon Hale’s BOOKS OF BAYERN series, Robin McKinley’s BEAUTY… most of the books I read as a kid are still my favorite reads today. But I’d say one of the most important books I’ve ever read is Jennifer Donnelly’s REVOLUTION. I recommend it to everyone!

Where can we learn more about you and your writing?

I blog about writing at HerInklings.wordpress.com, and I tweet too much at @thathalfasian. My other work has appeared in publications like Lightning Cake and Germ Magazine. I’m also standing behind you. Just kidding.

A Bit About Us

The on-going mission of Luna Station Quarterly is to display the vast and varied talents of female-identified speculative fiction writers. We believe that women have a unique and universal voice in fiction and we aim to get it heard.
We hope you enjoy the stories within. Please be sure to check out our author’s profiles to learn where you can read more of their work.
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